Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Definition and Overview

Guadalupe Mountains
Designation	National Park
Location	Texas USA
Nearest City	El Paso, Texas
Latitude	31° 55' N
Longitude	104° 52' W
Area	86,416 acres 34,971 ha
Date of Establishment	October 15, 1966
Visitation	179,188 (2003)
Governing Body	National Park Service
IUCN category	II (National Park)

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet (2,667 m) in elevation. It also contains El Capitan, long used as a landmark by people traveling along the old route later followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. Visitors can see the ruins of an old stagecoach station near the Pine Springs Visitor Center. The park covers 135 mi² (350 km²) and is in the same mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park which is located about 80 miles (129 km) to the north in New Mexico.

The park also contains McKittrick Canyon. During the Fall, McKittrick comes alive with a blaze of color from the turning Bigtooth Maples, in stark contrast with the surrounding Chihuahuan desert. A trail in the canyon leads to the cabin of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated the land in order to establish the park.

External links

• Official site: Guadalupe Mountains National Park (http://www.nps.gov/gumo/index.htm)
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park Pictures (http://www.nationalparksgallery.com/parks/Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park)
• Photos of Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Terra Galleria (http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.guadalupe-mountains.html)